The Conditions: One group watched SpongeBob episodes that were food related (e.g., "Chocolate with Nuts"). Other group watched non-food related episodes (e.g., "Snowball Effect"). Both groups had access to a bowl of candy.

The Result: “Restrained” eaters (those who were dieting) ate more while watching the food-related episodes, but type of show had no effect on “unrestrained” eaters.

7. Effects of repeated exposures to a single episode of the television program Blue's Clues on the viewing behaviors and comprehension of preschool children

The Conditions: Groups of kids watched an episode or Blue’s Clues one time, or five times over five days.

The Result: The more the kids watched the episode, the more they interacted with it and understood it.

The Oversimplified Takeway: Go ahead, watch that Blue’s Clues over and over.

8. The Television Situation Comedy and Children's Prosocial Behavior

The Scientists: Lawrence Rosenkoetter in Journal of Applied Social Psychology 29.5, 1999

The Shows:The Cosby Show and Full House

The Conditions: Kids watched an episode of The Cosby Show with a bunch of moral lessons. In another experiment, kids watched an episode of Full House with one overarching moral lesson.

The Result: Even 1st graders “get” the moral lessons of an adult sitcom like The Cosby Show. It was a little harder for them to get the one big lesson in the Full House episode. In general, kids who watch prosocial sitcoms have more prosocial behavior, especially if they understand them.

The Oversimplified Takeaway: If they can work it out on a half hour TV show, maybe your kids can too.

9. An assessment of obese and non obese girls' metabolic rate during television viewing, reading, and resting

The Scientists: Theodore Cooper, et al. in Eating Behaviors 7.2, 2006

The Shows:Full House and Wonder Years

The Conditions: One group watched an “active” show (an episode of Full House). One group watched a “passive” show (Wonder Years). Other conditions were resting without TV and reading a story.

The Result: No significant difference in metabolic rate between conditions. “Metabolic rate alone cannot account for the consistently observed relationship between television viewing and obesity.”

The Oversimplified Takeaway: Sorry, watching Full House won’t help you burn calories.